| Monday
September 18, 2006
Subject: Letter from England
I'm sending this from the Auditory Cortex conference
in Grantham, so I apologise for the brevity.
The latest issue of New Scientist has some follow-up
on the Scientific American article on expertise last August. <http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/mg19125691.300>
(not free)
The Pope's apology to Muslims. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5353208.stm>
<http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1874354,00.html>
<http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2361716,00.html>
<http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-2358004,00.html>
Also relevant <http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2361460,00.html>
They're barking mad--the latest installment. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/5354260.stm>
Prayer for Darfur <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5354194.stm>
No smoking gun in peerages scandal. <http://observer.guardian.co.uk/politics/story/0,,1874335,00.html>
London Times article on Republican situation in
Washington <http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2361339,00.html>
-- Harry Erwin, PhD, Program Leader, MSc Information
Systems Security, University of Sunderland.
<http://scat-he-g4.sunderland.ac.uk/~harryerw> Weblog at: <http://scat-he-g4.sunderland.ac.uk/~harryerw/blog/index.php>
=========
Subject: The Cost of Immigration
This gentleman (another immigrant like myself) sent me
an interesting calculation:
http://www.indiancowboy.net/blog/
The example I used on the blog was:
10 people: 4 make 10 dollars a year each, 3 make 20
each, 2 make 30 each, and 1 makes 40.
Total Income is 200 dollars. 60 of which is collected
in taxes. The government then spends 6 dollars in service on each person.
The guy making 40 dollars pays 20 in taxes. The two
guys making 30 dollars each pay 12 in taxes. And the three guys making 20
each pay 4 in taxes. And the four guys making 10 dollars each pay 1 dollar
in taxes. It works, more or less.
Now 4 more guys want to come in, 2 of whom will make
10 dollars a year and 2 of whom will make 20. They’ll pay taxes at the same
rate as everyone else.
This brings Total Income up 50 dollars to 250 dollars
total, but total tax revenue only goes up by 10 to 70 dollars. 14 people. 70
dollars. Now government only has 5 dollars instead of 6 to spend on
everyone. Now, either government service gets 16.6% crappier, or they put
the squeeze on the guys making 30 and 40 a year. The guys making 30,
although probably paying less as a percentage or overall, will feel the hit
harder than the guys making 40. The guys making 30 are our middle class.
Wanting to work and pay taxes is not enough. You can
still be a net drain on the economy and on the country *even if you do so*.
It is the nature of just about any conceivable
taxation system that for a given level of government per capita expenditure,
the ratio of rich/poor must remain fixed.
Under our disgustingly socialist government, allowing
unfettered immigration of anyone who wants to work with no regard to their
earning prospects is inviting not only a greater growth in socialism, but a
total governmental failure.
-- Recent novels by Michael Z. Williamson available in
bookstores worldwide:
TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY, March 2005 from Avon
THE WEAPON, August 2005 from Baen Books
CONFIRMED KILL, September 2005 from Avon
THE HERO with John Ringo, October 2005 from Baen Books (mass market edition)
http://www.MichaelZWilliamson.com
http://www.SharpPointyThings.com
Custom blades and historical costumes
I am the signature virus, please put me in your signature so I can spread.
============
Subject: One Less Voice Crying in
the Wilderness...
http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/tvaradarajan/?id=110008955
"Oriana Fallaci was the toughest nut, the primordial
female ballbuster journalist. Her reputation was made through a series of
innovatively intrusive, relentlessly probing interviews, in which she took
on--and bested--some of the most prominent male politicians of the last
third of the 20th century. She was not always the nicest gal, as I found in
my experience as her editor for two monumental op-ed pieces that she wrote
for this page in 2003... In fact, she was, by some considerable distance,
the most difficult, exasperating and intransigent author I have ever worked
with. She was also, by some distance, the most exhilarating, and the most
perfectionist."
"Ultimately, it has to be said that her fear of Islam,
and of Muslims, unhinged her. Or, more accurately, disconcerted her to the
point where she became unable to distinguish the incendiary from the
provocative. An expert diagnostician she may have been, but her bedside
manner--her constant references to Muslim immigrants as "invaders," to
Europe as "Eurabia"--undermined her ability to achieve the goal she sought,
which was to awaken the West to the very real dangers of cultural conflict
in its midst."
'"In the speech I [Oriana Fallaci] gave at the Italian
consulate in New York to accept one of the four golden medals I have
received in the last two months, I told that I had drawn a cartoon on the
Prophet and his nine wives including the 9 year old one and his sixteen
concubines including the she-camel. But I had not published it because I had
not been able to draw well the she-camel. (True). The author of the booklet
which asks the Moslems to eliminate me in accord with four Suras of the
Koran even sued me . . . Meaning now in Italy they even appeal to the
Italian law to incriminate an Italian citizen for a 'vilifying' cartoon that
nobody has seen."'
Oriana Fallaci -- RIP
Charles Brumbelow
=========
Subject: Text of the speech that
started all the ruckus
Linked from Drudge Report: Catholic World News has the
text of the speech that started all the ruckus.
http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=46474
It is fairly long, and well worth reading, in its
entirety.
It is also worth noting that, in context, the words in
question are an extremely small piece of the whole. One has to wonder if
someone else isn't perhaps trying very hard to fan the flames, deliberately.
--John R. Strohm
==
Subject: Lawrence of Arabia's description of Arabs
"They were a limited, narrow-minded people,
whose inert intellects lay fallow in incurious resignation. Their
imaginations were vivid, but not creative. There was so little Arab art
in Asia that they could almost be said to have had no art, though their
classes were liberal patrons, and had encouraged whatever talents in
architecture, or ceramics, or other handicraft their neighbours and
helots displayed. Nor did they handle great industries: they had no
organizations of mind or body. They invented no systems of philosophy,
no complex mythologies." - From Seven Pillars of Wisdom
H
===========
Subject: Fitting monuments
Dr Pournelle
As I read each week's Chaos Manor View and Mail, very
often I follow links back into your archives. Sometimes I just pick a week
at random, open the archive, and read. That's how I came across The Black
September War.
Satirically you suggested we despoil some cities to
make monuments to our 9/11 dead (The Black September War). After the violent
response to the satire, you suggested that schools would make more fitting
monuments.
Well, it looks like the monuments will be built but
not by the American gov't. The schools will be built by an American: Melinda
Gates (with her husband's and Warren Buffet's money).
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/GlobalDevelopment/ If not schools,
libraries anyway.
And the Earth Institute at Columbia University with
its Millenium Villages project
http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/mvp/ builds other
monuments.
I note that these two organizations focus on
subsaharan Africa, not on Islamic populations. It will be interesting to see
if the experiment succeeds. It will also be interesting to see if these
organizations extend their efforts to Islamic populations. (I would suggest
they try the Moslems in India first so that their workers have some hope of
police protection.)
Maybe this war between tribalism and civilization will
be won by the efforts of private individuals and private organizations.
Respectfully h lynn keith
PS I recently read (I don't recall where) that the
total export commerce of the Arab nations--excluding oil--was less than that
of Finland. Seems to say that economic sanctions against these countries are
futile.
PPS I am all for Americans building schools in foreign
countries. I think that--in addition to local history--students in those
schools should also be taught American history.
PPPS The only real hope we have of any committed
effort to develop orbital factories for power generation or other uses will
come from commercial efforts, not NASA.
===========
Subject: Good things to know,
Jerry
This was forwarded to me. I haven't checked out these
items at snopes.com, so I can only vouch for #1, the headache cure. In my
experience, most people suffering from afternoon tension headaches (not the
kind you had) are suffering from dehydration, brought on by drinking lots of
coffee with subsequent transfer of water from blood to urinary tract
(caffeine is a diuretic). I tell my coworkers to drink hot water instead of
taking Tylenol, Motrin, Advil or more coffee. It works. Gatorade or Powerade
would work better.
Ed
What I received:
Tape this inside medicine cabinet
Did You Know That? Drinking two glasses of
Gatorade can relieve headache pain almost immediately -- without the
unpleasant side effects caused by traditional "pain relievers."
Did you know that Colgate toothpaste makes
an excellent salve for burns.
Before you head to the drugstore for a
high-priced inhaler filled with mysterious chemicals, try chewing on a
couple of curiously strong Altoids peppermints. They'll clear up your
stuffed nose.
Achy muscles from a bout of the flu? Mix 1
Tablespoon of horseradish in 1 cup of olive oil. Let the mixture sit for
30 minutes, then apply it as a massage oil, for instant relief for
aching muscles.
Sore throat? Just mix 1/4 cup of vinegar
with 1/4 cup of honey and take 1 tablespoon six times a day. The vinegar
kills the bacteria.
Cure urinary tract infections with
Alka-Seltzer Just dissolve two tablets in a glass of water and drink it
at the onset of the symptoms. Alka-Seltzer begins eliminating urinary
tract infections almost instantly -- even though the product was never
advertised for this use. ( Note : Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold Medicine is not
the same..and contains aspirin, which can cause stomach bleeding if you
have ulcers.)
Honey remedy for skin blemishes ... Cover
the blemish with a dab of honey and place a Band-Aid over it. Honey
kills the bacteria, keeps the skin sterile, and speeds healing. Works
overnight.
Listerine therapy for toenail fungus ...
Get rid of unsightly toenail fungus by soaking your toes in Listerine
mouthwash. The powerful antiseptic leaves your toenails looking healthy
again.
Easy eyeglass protection ... To prevent the
screws in eyeglasses from loosening, apply a small drop of Maybelline
Crystal Clear nail polish to the threads of the screws before tightening
them.
Coca-Cola cure for rust ... Forget those
expensive rust removers. Just saturate an abrasive sponge with Coca Cola
and scrub the rust stain. The phosphoric acid in the coke is what gets
the job done.
Cleaning liquid that doubles as bug killer
... If menacing bees, wasps, hornets, or yellow jackets get in your home
and you can't find the insecticide, try a spray of Formula 409 . Insects
drop to the ground instantly.
Smart splinter remover ...just pour a drop
of Elmer's Glue-All over the splinter, let dry, and peel the dried glue
off the skin. The splinter sticks to the dried glue.
Hunt's tomato paste boil cure ....cover the
boil with Hunt's tomato paste as a compress. The acids from the tomatoes
soothe the pain and bring the boil to a head.
Balm for broken blisters ...To disinfect a
broken blister, dab on a few drops of Listerine ... a powerful
antiseptic.
Heinz vinegar to heal bruises ... Soak a
cotton ball in white vinegar and apply it to the bruise for 1 hour. The
vinegar reduces the blueness and speeds up the healing process.
Kills fleas instantly. Dawn dish washing
liquid does the trick. Add a few drops to your dog's bath and shampoo
the animal thoroughly. Rinse well to avoid skin irritations. Goodbye
fleas
Rainy day cure for dog odor ... Next time
your dog comes in from the rain, simply wipe down the animal with Bounce
or any dryer sheet, instantly making your dog smell springtime fresh.
Eliminate ear mites ... All it takes is a
few drops of Wesson corn oil in your cat's ear. Massage it in, then
clean with a cotton ball. Repeat daily for 3 days. The oil soothes the
cat's skin, smothers the mites, and accelerates healing.
Quaker Oats for fast pain relief ....It's
not for breakfast anymore! Mix 2 cups of Quaker Oats and 1 cup of water
in a bowl and warm in the microwave for 1 minute, cool slightly, and
apply the mixture to your hands for soothing relief from arthritis pain.
If you send this to 10 people and only one
of them doesn't know about this, then it was worth it.
I have not tried most of these, but there are a
couple I recognize from my days as an editor of SURVIVE magazine; we tried
several of these folk remedies and they worked. Certainly the Listerine in
those days was a powerful antiseptic. I never thought of it as a cure for
dermatopytes or whatever those cute little burrowing things you see on TV
are. I always worry about kidney damage wen considering taking some internal
dope to fix toenails.
=========
Pope Assails Secularism, Adding Note on
Jihad
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/13/world/europe/13pope.html
September 13, 2006
By IAN FISHER
Correction Appended
REGENSBURG, Germany, Sept. 12 Pope Benedict
XVI weighed in Tuesday on the delicate issue of rapport between Islam
and the West: He said that violence, embodied in the Muslim idea of
jihad, or holy war, is contrary to reason and Gods plan, while the West
was so beholden to reason that Islam could not understand it.
Nonetheless, in a complex treatise
delivered at the university here where he once taught, he suggested
reason as a common ground for a genuine dialogue of cultures and
religions so urgently needed today.
In all, the speech seemed to reflect the
Vaticans struggle over how to confront Islam and terrorism, as the
79-year-old pope pursues what is often considered a more provocative,
hard-nosed and skeptical approach to Islam than his predecessor, John
Paul II.
As such, it distilled many of Benedicts
longstanding concerns, about the crisis of faith among Christians and
about Islam and its relationship to violence.
And he used language open to
interpretations that could inflame Muslims, at a time of high tension
among religions and three months before he makes a trip to Turkey.
He began his speech, which ran over half an
hour, by quoting a 14th-century Byzantine emperor, Manuel II Paleologus,
in a conversation with a learned Persian on Christianity and Islam and
the truth of both.
Show me just what Muhammad brought that was
new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his
command to spread the sword by the faith he preached, the pope quoted
the emperor, in a speech to 1,500 students and faculty.
He went on to say that violent conversion
to Islam was contrary to reason and thus contrary to Gods nature.
But the section on Islam made up just three
paragraphs of the speech, and he devoted the rest to a long examination
of how Western science and philosophy had divorced themselves from faith
leading to the secularization of European society that is at the heart
of Benedicts worries.
This, he said, has closed off the West from
a full understanding of reality, making it also impossible to talk with
cultures for whom faith is fundamental.
The worlds profoundly religious cultures
see this exclusion from the divine, from the universality of reason as
an attack on their most profound convictions, he said. A reason which is
deaf to the divine and which relegates religion into the realm of
subcultures is incapable of entering into the dialogue of cultures.
Several experts on the Catholic Church and
Islam agreed that the speech in which Benedict made clear he was quoting
other sources on Islam did not appear to be a major statement on, or
condemnation of, Islam. The chief concern, they said, was the West's
exclusion of religion from the realm of reason.
Still, they said that the strong words he
used in describing Islam, even that of the 14th century, ran the risk of
offense.<snip>
Clearly justifying the burning of Greek Orthodox
and Protestant churches as a demonstration of how Muslims are committed to
peace, order, and justice.
=============
Polio vaccination dismissed as devil's work
across Africa
http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1356802006&format=print
The Scotsman Thu 14 Sep 2006
Polio vaccination dismissed as devil's work
across Africa
MARIA CHENG AND JOHN ALECHENU IN KANO,
NIGERIA
FOR Ramatu Garba, the polio vaccine is more
curse than saviour - part of an evil conspiracy hatched in the West to
sterilise Nigerian girls.
"Allah used Muslim scientists to expose the
western plot of using polio vaccines to reduce our population," said the
28-year-old Muslim food vendor in the northern Nigerian town of Kano.
Each time health teams have tried to
vaccinate her daughter, Ms Garba has refused.
Besides lack of funding, equipment and
personnel, international health teams fighting disease in the world's
poorest countries must also contend with rumours that spread through
vulnerable populations and create barriers to urgent health campaigns
that have saved millions of lives.
In Kenya, whispers were once rife that
polio vaccine is a tool for devil worship. Across Africa, there is
widespread belief that vaccines spread HIV.
The rumours in Kano started in 2003, when
local politicians claimed polio vaccine contained anti-fertility agents
and suspended vaccination for nearly a year. Since then, public-health
authorities have been working desperately to convince the government and
people like Ms Garba of the vaccine's safety.
Fears about the polio vaccine have been so
prevalent in rural Nigeria that villagers have fled their homes when
polio vaccination teams arrive.
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